Improvement in wood pavements



Gv.`w'.' DYER.

Improvement in Wood Pavements.

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GEORGE w. DYEE, OE WASHINGTON, nIsTEICT or COLUMBIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN WOOD PAVEMENTS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 124,799, dated March 19, 1872.

SPECIFICATION. To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE W. DYER, of Washington, in the county'of Washington and District of Columbia, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Wood Pavelnents; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing and to the letters of reference marked thereon.

The object of my invention is to dispense with the dividing strips 7 between corresponding rows of blocks in wood pavements; and the invention consists in the means employed V for keeping said rows asunder a proper distance to receive a suitable portion of filling material.

ln the drawing Figure l is a top-plan view of mypavement; Fig. 2, an end elevation of the saine; and Fig. 3, a plan view of a guide for regulating the driving of the nails.

My pavement consists of rectangular blocks A, preferably sawn froln planks of suitable thickness, and arranged in corresponding rows across the street upon a iiooring, B, of boards running lengthwise of said street, which flooring, in turn, rests upon a suitable foundation of gravel, sand, broken stones, or other proper material. Thesa blocks, before being laid down in rows, have driven into each one of them, preferably upon a line near their vertical centers upon one side, common nails, C, so as to project a proper distance, leaving spaces D of a corresponding width, believed to be about five-eighths of an inch. The drawing shows two of such nails, in some instances, in each block, which, it is thought, will be all that are essential for the purpose, and in some instances three nails, the third being centrally situated. In order to have these nails driven accurately it may be necessary to employ a metal guide, F, of proper thickness, perforated with holes of a size to allow the heads of the nails to pass through it when it is withdrawn, and of a suitable distance apart, as shown in Fig. 3. Instead of common nails, suitable pins may be employed without departing from` the spirit of my invention.

Another modification of my invention consists in the staples E of a proper size, driven intothe tops of the blocks as they are laid l in rows, by means of which the rows are kept a proper distance apart. When a sufficient number of rows are thus laid down and secured asunder, and the filling placed between them, the staples may be drawn out and used over again. Then thesey staples are employed it will not be necessary to use the nails in the blocks, but both may be used together, if required. In the use of the blocks with the nails, as first` mentioned, the iilling is put in after a proper number of rows of blocks are laid down, neither the nails or staples prcventing in any appreciable degree the process of filling. The material for lilling the spaces between the rows of blocks may be of sand, gravel, broken stone, concrete, or other well-known substances; but gravel or broken stone, well rammed,is preferred byme. After the material is rammed a coatin g of coal-tar or other proper coating may be applied to the vseams inV the ordinary way. This pavement may be laid without a floor, if desired, upon a proper foundation.

The advantages possessed by my pavement consist in its simplicity and cheapness of construction, asis apparent upon inspection, in having spaces with parallel lines, by means whereof the filling may be rammed without tilting the blocks, and will not be liable to work out; and in dispensing with dividing strips, which, retaining moisture, have a tendency to decay first, and then communicate decay to the contiguous blocks, which result also occurs in blocks which touch at their bases.

Having thus described my invention, and

. sgme of its advantages, what I claim as new therein, and desire to secureA by Letters Pat ent, is l l. A wood pavement, wherein the blocks are held asunder by nails or staples, substantially in the manner described.

2. The guides F, substantially as described and shown, for the purposes set forth;

This specification signed and witnessed this 23d day of February, 1872.

" GEORGE W. DYER.

Witnesses:

R. H. STEELE, S. J. NoYEs. 

